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Can;t stand on tip toes on left foot

On Dec 27th 2013 I had a siatica flare up. The original back injury was 2 years prior with extreme pain in the left leg from *** to toes. It lasted few days and went away in time on it's own. I seemed to be fine except very slight tingling in left foot. Could walk and run as before. I dd get an MRI and it showed a herniated disc but I was advised against surgery since there was no pain. I was told the nerve would slowly regenerate a mm a day or something like that.

The 2013 event came out of nowhere and I was in pain except when laying down it was slightly better from Friday night until I called the DR on Sunday the 29th and got a prescription for pain killers. That got rid of the pain and then I saw a doctor the same DR as before who was a back and spine specialist and a Professor at George Washington University here in DC. He did say I was not a candidate for an injection in my back or for surgery and the usual warnings that surgery may make tings worse and again told me it would take a lot of time for the nerve to heal.

Today over 2 and a half years later I have some numbness in the lower left leg on  the outside and the ball of my left foot is numb and feels like it has a bulge in it. I don't push off when I walk, can't stand on my toes on that foot and walk sometimes with a limp and occasionally the left side of mu foot gives out and I almost fall over. I did do PT for a few months in 2014 but at $500 an hour for traction and then do my home exercises on their table and a woman moving my foot from side to side I had had enough. I was not making progress. My muscle in the left leg is almost 2" smaller than the muscle in the right leg.

I need to exercise it or find a way to build the muscle back up. I am 55 and worried it will get weaker and something will eventually brake or I;ll not be able to walk well. At 55 years old this makes me wonder if I'll make it 10 ears or so until I can retire before I become disabled due to this condition. I am thinking it is too late for any intervention anyway unless I were to have another siatica attack and was in pain.

Are there any recommendations or something that is working for others? Something I can do at home or while out walking would help.  Oh and BTW that same DR told me to walk a lot.But if I walk a lot the numbness gets worse and I really start to limp badly and it wears my leg and foot out.

Thanks for any insight you might have.
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Avatar universal
Sounds like drop foot.  Buy foot orthotic and wear it every day.  
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Unfortunately it is more than drop foot. The nerve isn't functioning and so the muscle in my leg is wasting away. I haven't found anything to help. In the next week or so I am going to a neurosurgeon to have the nerve tested to see what if anything can be done.  I need the muscle to support the bone which helps with walking and balance. I have heard there is nerve grafting but I don't know. I doubt back surgery would help at this point as it was a ruptured disc that started all of this in 2011.
Avatar universal
I have the same problem. With diligent research I’ve found several others (online) with the same complaint. Mine is the result of a surgical screw up at Vanderbilt.
The most frustrating thing is that none of the victims has gotten a diagnosis with a name for the condition. I term it “the opposite of foot drop.” It’s as if the medical community doesn’t recognize it as a problem.
Little or no improvement is ever reported. I’ve tried PT and exercises for years. Now I’m searching for braces or electro-stimulation to help me regain a decent walking gait.
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